Fire protection at events: Attitude, structure and consistent decisions
Event and visitor safety is also a top priority at carnival.
Event and visitor safety is also a top priority at carnival.
The carnival season is approaching its peak and, as every year, brings together millions of revellers. This makes it all the more important to raise awareness of fire safety and recognise fire risks. Seasonal festivals and events such as carnivals or winter markets often involve additional risks: temporary event areas and rooms, improvised decorations, pyrotechnics indoors and a large number of guests.
In Germany, organisers of festivals are obliged by a series of regulations and laws to systematically minimise risks. "However, the best regulations are useless if they are not understood and practised. That's why knowledge is the strongest fire protection we have," emphasises Olaf Jastrob, expert for event and visitor safety and specialist for event safety at TÜV NORD Akademie.
Trained personnel and clear responsibilities are essential in fire safety. This includes regular instruction, practical exercises with realistic scenarios, evacuation drills, fire extinguisher training and emergency communication as well as an understanding of current legal requirements and technical developments. According to the expert, the topic of safety culture is also crucial: "A good safety culture is created through attitude, structure and consistent decisions. This requires clear responsibilities, complete documentation, the courage to make uncomfortable decisions and transparent safety communication with employees and guests." This also applies to events of all sizes - whether it's a children's party organised by volunteers in the community centre or a large carnival parade through the district.
Olaf Jastrob emphasises: "Security must be managed. It is not an additional service, but the core task of every responsible organisation and the people who assume responsibility." Partygoers must be able to rely on the fact that everything has been done to minimise fire risks. Event and visitor safety must therefore be planned at an early stage and clearly managed.
The precise requirements for operators and organisers are defined as a strong set of rules in a series of laws and regulations:
Further information: The German Expert Council for Visitor Safety (DEB) provides a free, practical tool in the form of the "Event Safety Guideline (VaSi-Ri)": www.expertenrat-besuchersicherheit.de
TÜV NORD Akademie offers various training programmes on this topic:
A range of qualifications and practical training courses are offered for those responsible for fire safety: Fire protection seminar landscape
Operators and event organisers will find a comprehensive range of further training courses on event safety in the web shop: Protection and risk management
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